Vegetarian Taco Pie, Messiah College

Douglas Kirkland, manager of purchasing and production for Dining Services at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, Pa., says after the department kept getting requests for more and more vegetarian dishes, the decided to revamp its popular beef taco pie.

“We used garden burger crumbles that I had just seen at a food show for the beef and reduced the portion size and voila!” Kirkland says. “It made a big difference nutritionally. We reduced calories from 350 per serving to 180 per serving. The first time we made it, all of our tasters had no idea it was vegetarian. We still make as much as we did when it was beef. It can even be made vegan by substituting soy cheese and soy sour cream if desired.”